
Stephen M. Gill






Stephen M. Gill is an accomplished corporate lawyer who leads Vinson & Elkins’ public company mergers & acquisitions practice. Steve advises both acquirers and targets involved in high-profile transactions across industry sectors.
Some of his notable representations include advising RSP Permian in its $9.5 billion sale to Concho Resources, which created the largest unconventional shale producer in the Permian Basin, and advising Maxar Technologies in its $3.6 billion merger with DigitalGlobe, which produced a leading provider of satellites, earth imagery, geospatial data solutions and analytics.
In addition to his M&A work, Steve represents public companies with respect to securities law compliance, securities offerings, and corporate governance. He also advises public companies on matters relating to shareholder activism defense.
Steve is V&E’s chairman of talent management and is also the firm’s hiring partner. Widely recognized for his accomplishments, he has twice been named an Energy MVP by Law360, and was one of three finalists for Texas Lawyer’s 2018 Attorney of the Year. Steve is a member of the board of directors of the Houston Society for the Performing Arts.
Experience Highlights
Noble Energy in its $13 billion sale to Chevron
Jagged Peak Energy in its $2.27 billion merger with Parsley Energy
Roan Resources in its $1 billion sale to Citizen Energy Operating, LLC, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus
WildHorse Resource Development in its $4 billion sale to Chesapeake Energy
Maxar Technologies in its $3.6 billion merger with DigitalGlobe, creating a leading provider of satellites, earth imagery, geospatial data solutions and analytics
RSP Permian in its $9.5 billion sale to Concho Resources, creating the largest unconventional shale producer in the Permian Basin
Rice Energy in its $6.7 billion merger with EQT Corporation, creating the largest independent producer of natural gas in the United States
The Shaw Group in its $3 billion sale to Chicago Bridge & Iron
C&J Energy Services in its $2.86 billion merger with Nabors’ completion and production business to create a leading diversified completion and production services provider
Energy XXI in its $2.3 billion acquisition of EPL Oil & Gas Inc., creating the largest publicly traded independent oil and gas producer on the Gulf of Mexico Shelf
Select Energy Services, an affiliate of Crestview Partners, in its $1.3 billion merger with Rockwater Energy Solutions
Westlake Chemical Corp. in its subsequently withdrawn unsolicited $1.2 billion bid to acquire Georgia Gulf Corp., North America’s largest maker of vinyl construction products
Huntsman Corporation in its $1.1 billion acquisition of the performance additives and titanium dioxide businesses of Rockwood Holdings
St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System in its $1 billion transfer to the Catholic Health Initiatives
NorthStar Realty Finance in the approximately $16 billion combination with NorthStar Asset Management Group and Colony Capital in an all-stock merger of equals transaction to create a world-class, internally-managed, diversified real estate and investment management platform
CYS Investments, an agency mortgage REIT, in its merger with Two Harbors Investment Corp., a leading hybrid mortgage REIT
The Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Owens Realty Mortgage, a specialty finance REIT, in its $200 million merger with Ready Capital Corporation, a real estate finance company
Rice Energy in the proxy contest defense of its merger with EQT against JANA Partners
Sandridge Energy in its proxy contest defense against Carl Icahn and in the defense of the unsolicited bid of Midstates Petroleum
Crest Financial Limited in its proxy contest against the merger of Clearwire Corporation with Sprint Nextel Corporation, resulting in an increase of the merger consideration of approximately 70% from $2.97 to $5.00, valuing Clearwire at $14 billion
Credentials
- Tulane Law School, J.D. summa cum laude, 2001 (Notes & Comments Editor, Tulane Law Review; Order of the Coif)
- Louisiana State University, B.A., Political Science, 1998
- Chambers USA, Corporate/M&A (Texas), 2018-2020; Up and Coming, 2018 and 2019
- Law360, Energy MVP, 2017 and 2018; Rising Star, Energy, 2015
- Selected to the Texas Rising Stars list, Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), 2005−2015
- Legal 500 U.S., Energy Transactions, 2017; M&A: Large Deals, 2017–2019; Private Equity Buyouts, 2017; Real Estate: REITs, 2017; Shareholder Activism, 2019 and 2020; US Taxes: Non-Contentious, 2019
- IFLR1000, 2020
- Texas
- Deals & CasesFebruary 17, 2021
- Rankings & AwardsOctober 2, 2020
- Event RecapSeptember 10, 2020
- Deals & CasesSeptember 1, 2020
- Event RecapAugust 25, 2020
- Rankings & AwardsAugust 17, 2020
- Deals & CasesAugust 12, 2020
- Deals & CasesJuly 20, 2020
- Rankings & AwardsJune 16, 2020
- V&E+May 28, 2020
- Rankings & AwardsApril 23, 2020
- Event RecapMarch 19, 2020
- Deals & CasesOctober 14, 2019
- Deals & CasesOctober 1, 2019
- Rankings & AwardsMay 30, 2019
- Rankings & AwardsApril 25, 2019
- V&E+March 27, 2019
- Event RecapMarch 20, 2019
- Deals & CasesFebruary 26, 2019
- Rankings & AwardsDecember 14, 2018
- Deals & CasesNovember 7, 2018
- Deals & CasesOctober 30, 2018
- Deals & CasesOctober 29, 2018
- Deals & CasesAugust 27, 2018
- Deals & CasesAugust 1, 2018
- V&E+July 26, 2018
- V&E+July 26, 2018
- InsightJune 2018
First published in 13D Monitor’s The Activist Report
- Rankings & AwardsMay 9, 2018
- Deals & CasesApril 26, 2018
- Deals & CasesMarch 28, 2018
- Press ReleaseFebruary 8, 2018
- Rankings & AwardsDecember 20, 2017
- Deals & CasesNovember 21, 2017
- Deals & CasesJune 3, 2016
- Event RecapSeptember 9, 2015
- “Public Company Consolidations: What You Need to Know,” Energy Series, V&E Houston Office, March 20, 2019 (speaker)
- “Shareholder Activism,” The Deal Economy Conference – Chicago, September 24, 2018 (panelist)
- “What to Do When the Barbarians Are At Your Gate: A Shareholder Activism Bootcamp,” National Investor Relations Institute Annual Conference, June 10, 2018 (speaker)
- “M&A Transaction Structures: Corporate, Reporting, and Tax Considerations,” V&E Houston Office, June 14, 2017 (speaker)
- “2016 Proxy Review, 2017 Predictions & ISS Voting Policy Updates,” Houston Chapter of Society for Corporate Governance, February 8, 2017 (speaker)
- “Confidentiality Agreements and Standstill Agreements,” 35th Annual Conference on Securities Regulation and Business Law of the University of Texas School of Law, February 2013 (presenter)